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Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan kept their faint title hopes alive when they registered a narrow win over Goan outfit Churchill Brothers on Saturday. And immediately after the win, the club has shot a request to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to have their final league fixture held on Thursday, 8 March 2018.
I-League CEO Sunando Dhar confirmed the development to Sportskeeda and also added that efforts are being made to acquiesce the request.
"Yes, they have requested for their final match be held on March 8 along with the three other teams in the reckoning for the title. But nothing is confirmed yet, we are trying to do what we can," he said.
On Saturday, Bagan edged out the Red Machines 2-1 thanks to goals from Nikhil Kadam and Akram Moghrabi. As a result, the Mariners moved into the third position on the I-League table with 30 points from 17 matches. Minerva Punjab, of course, lead the table with 32 points while NEROCA are second with 31 points. East Bengal are placed fourth with 29 points but they have a game in hand.
Minerva will host Churchill, who themselves are fighting a relegation battle, in their final match, while East Bengal will take on NEROCA at the Salt Lake Stadium. Both these matches were rescheduled to be held on March 8 at 3 pm so as to avoid any chances of possible result manipulation.
According to the pre-scheduled fixtures, Mohun Bagan will make a visit to Kozhikode on Tuesday to take on Gokulam Kerala FC in their final league match. However, now the Red and Maroons want their last match to be played on the same day and at the same time as the other title contenders.
One issue that might arise is that the matches will kickoff at 3 pm and the afternoon weather conditions in Kolkata and Kozhikode are not exactly ideal for football at this time of the year. It remains to be seen if the AIFF reschedules the fixtures, if at all.
